By request! I made an animated blinkie button that links back here. Want to keep up with the boybarians' crazy antics? One click and you can transport yourself right back here to the craziness. Just copy and paste the code below the button and paste it into an html/java element in your sidebar.
It's been awhile since I've answered some of the reader emails. I guess if I don't ever answer them, people are going to stop asking. So here are some I found while cleaning out my inbox yesterday...
(1.) You travel a lot. Where ya' goin' all these places, girlfriend?
Well, I don't know if I travel extensively, but I do a bit of business here and there. I am a telecommuter. My office is in White Plains, NY (home of the March of Dimes' National Office). So, I head out there quarterly. I also do a few conferences with some of our amazing volunteers and some for speaking or learning opportunities. So when I'm off hopping tarmacs, it's usually all in my quest to support NICU families, either learning more about it or helping others learn more about it.
This year, though, I will also be traveling to BlogHer in San Fran and to my sister MOBS's wedding in Mexico. Are any of you heading to BlogHer???
(2.) Tell me how to make that grilled peanut butter thing, please?
Ohh... do try this. Really. It's so super easy. Make yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Now, just like a grilled cheese, generously butter the outside and grill on your stovetop. Be careful because PB tends to melt - you need just enough to give the bread a crunch! I eat it with a fork, because it's just too messy to pick up. It's dessert! Next time, I'll tackle the peanut butter and cereal combo.
(3.) How did you meet that Handy Man of yours? Do tell.
Oh my. I'll give the abbreviated version. I was teaching Italian at a big university near Handy Man's hometown. I was a young thing. For whatever reason, Handy Man decided he wanted to learn Italian with the plans of taking a trip over to Europe for their amazing food. (On a side note, only a man plans his vacations following his stomach!). So he went about finding a local tutor, and I was who he found. He was my student. And I almost didn't take him - all my other students were college-age preparing for exams or in my classes at the U. I couldn't figure out why "some old guy" wanted lessons. But serendipitously, I was so broke that I had to take any $$$ opportunity I could find. So, that's how it started. And he was a GREAT student. ;)
(4.) How long do you plan to homeschool?
For however long it continues to be successful. :)
(5.) Think you'll stay in that house forever?
Most days I'd like to. But if our state ever changed the homeschool laws, we'd pack up the boybarians in a nanosecond and head to Illinois or Texas - or wherever we could maintain our schooling status quo. If Handy Man decided to take his business elsewhere, we'd go. I am lucky enough to be able to do my jobs wherever the wind blows us. This house is special to us, but ultimately, it's just a house. Now, if Handy Man decided to build again in our local area, I'd kill him.
(6.) How did you get started with design. How can I get started?
I still wake up some days in complete disbelief that people ask me to design their blogs. Boy that was a crazy path. I guess it all boils down to: see a need, fill a need. (Name that movie!) There is a huge need to be filled. And moms especially seem to appreciate working with other mom-treprenuers. I absolutely love everything about it, but other than an affinity for design, I have no educational background in this field. My majors were in language (both pathology of and foreign) and it turns out that coding is really just another language. It was pretty easy to pick up.
So you think you want to learn? I first suggest in investing in a good graphic program: I use Adobe CS3, but even Photoshop Elements is a great starter program. You can find CS2 for pretty cheap now that the next thing is out, and CS2 can do nearly everything CS3 can do. Then... well... some people buy books. I don't own a single CSS or html book. Some people swear by it, but I really need something more hands on. So I started a test blog and just started playing with the code and watching what happened. If you think a book would help you - there are hundreds. But sometimes trial and error is simply the best teacher. I will be starting to post TIPS for Bloggers over at my other blog: Graphically Designing.
I was going to post the search options again - some of those are too too funny - but there have been some creepy ones lately. I need to follow those and change those posts. I'm getting some weirdo traffic. So those of you looking for anything above rated PG - you're barking up the wrong tree.
I'm sure that gives those of you who are in my design queue tons of confidence, but it's true. Some of you may have happened upon my blog and gotten a message that Life With My 3 Boybarians was inaccessible with an error code. I was freaking out! I admittedly use my blog for record keeping. Those links over there to our curriculum, but especially to our custom-made history schedule is accessed by me at least weekly.
How did it happen? So I discovered in my nosing around that Blogger has a whole draft platform where they have lots of cool widgets available that are still in beta. And I think to myself, "Ohhh... I really need that one!"
Lesson learned. Don't hack Blogger while Blogger's widgets are still in beta. It does unrecoverable damage to your blog. I couldn't access anything. So, I go to the the (un)Help(ful) Group. I was so afraid all was lost... all the hours here... all the videos... gone.
I got absolutely no reply from Blogger. So then, I thought to myself... if I could just remove the line of code for that troublesome widget maybe I could fix my blog. Makes sense, right? But I couldn't access this blog at all. So... (and I hope this restores any lost confidence from my design queue members...)
I went to my other blog over at Graphically Designing, and clicked Dashboard. From there I was able to see both this and that blog. Rather than trying to open up LWM3B I clicked Edit Layout then Edit html. It opened! From there I was able to find the code for the new, hacked, beta widget and delete it. I clicked save... and...
it fixed! Yippee! Never have I been so glad to be a nerd!
And since 80% of my readership is now drooling on themselves from lack-of-interest or left my blog completely, never to return again... if you're still here this is for you!
Friday night we had a family game night. We bought Yahtzee and Apples to Apples Junior. ( If you're a homeschooler those would also be known as math and language!). It was so much fun! I remember Yahtzee from when I was a kid. But even little Picasso was able to play... not only that but he won. You know it's a great game when the six year old can beat Daddy. But the most hilarious was Apples to Apples. If you have a child between the ages of 6-10 this is a must-have! You get 5 cards... they say things like Washing the Dishes, Charlotte's Web, Power Rangers, George Washington, or Science Tests. Then in the middle is thrown an adjective card, like... Cuddly, Fragile, Smelly, Powerful. And you have to choose a card in your hand that you feel fits the adjective. What ends up happening is things like... Smelly Science tests.... cuddly George Washington... or Powerful Washing the Dishes. The boys were erupting in peels of laughter. We had a ton of fun! I highly recommend it. 
Check it out! LWM3B has a new look. Seems I'm never satisfied with the look around here, and I am my pickiest customer. Doing this made me realize I need one of these. I made that coffee cup with a mouse. I *heart* it, despite its imperfections. But I'm saving my pennies for the big boy.
I've been busy with work projects this week, and I tried to go back through archives to find the last Mill Creek Academy Weekly Report. It's been awhile. They became so time burdensome, I've all but given them up. So, I am Monthly Reporter! I think that allows me the fun of the report without the burden of weekly posts.
Also, as my sidebar indicates, I'm a homeschooling Top 100 blog over at Heart of the Matter! You can click the image to find out more about this rising resource for homeschoolers.
Remember my friend The Nester? She's such a cool gal. She's been such a pain in the @$$, uh, such a joy to work with on this project. She's totally picky open-minded, and loved to give me very detailed criticism good advice about how to make a space totally perfect for her. Ha! Just teasin', Nester. It's been a ton of fun! Thanks for really giving those design muscles a work out.
This is was her blog before:
And this is where we are, so far. You can click to blow up. Well, don't YOU blow up. But blow up the picture. You know what I meant.
To follow the whole transformation, go check out my design blog over at Graphically Designing.
I am still debating about whether or not I should post the photos of Handy Man's big 'April Fools in December' joke on me. Turns out my "uncomfortable surprise" face is not altogether flattering; nor am I very clever at disguising how I really feel. I really need to work on my facial expressions. Really.
Sooooo... Handy Man got me a new toy for Christmas! It's a sparkly, fast, gorgeous... laptop. For you nerds out there - it runs Mac's new Leopard (I'm getting light-headed!), it has 2.6GHz Intel Core duo processor, built-in airport Extreme (for anytime, anywhere internet surfing). It is fast, loaded and way cooler than even my desktop (swoon!). My desktop runs Vista, which I actually really like, but man oh man... Macs are just... well... smart. Intuitive. And very, very cool. Thanks, Handy Man. It's the best Christmas since the year I got the complete Strawberry Shortcake figurine set.
One of my new upgrades with the Mac was switching from Photoshop CS2 to CS3 (thanks for your help, Dr. D!). And Handy Man ordered these nifty little Photoshop actions for me to play with. It's a brand new machine, a brand new graphics program, and some brand new features... so I've had to do a LOT of toying around with the graphics. These actions really work with best with portraits, I think, but as cute as the boybarians are, sometimes when on the learning curve, I need a little more excitement.
What do you think of my.... errr.... Handy work????
And Random.org says:
Sooooo... #2 is The Nester over at The Nesting Place, who said, "I never win anything." Well, your luck changes today, sista'! You are the winner.
Please go easy on me. ;)
Here is The Nester's current blog:
Check back soon to see me unwrap my new Christmas toy and hear about Handy Man's April Fool's Day in December. Sneaky Devil, he is!
ps - I now know 'The Fiddle Piggy' by heart forward and backwards. Thanks, Nester!
You're hip. You've got style. You definitely aren't one of those fit-a-mold types, right?
So why does your blog feel so... generic?
There are thousands of articles out there about improving your blog space, keeping reader interest and engaging passers-by. I can't get into writing style here, but I can help with the aesthetics, at least a little.
You need a blog that reflects YOU.
The number one things that loses reader interest? Your same exact layout on a dozen other blogs. So break out! Customise! Improvise! Legalize! Errr... wait. Not that last one.
Announcing: LWM3B Header contest. Winner will receive his or her own customized, personal, hip header, courtesy of me - to the best of my meager design abilities.
"Uhhhhh, what's a header," you ask?
It's that little bar graphic across the top with your blog name. See mine up there? It's got a tidy little cappuccino, my title, and some nifty graphics. You can see some samples over at my other, new, fresh, little blog, Graphically Designing.
What will yours look like?
Rules:
* Only one entry per IP.
* All entries in by Friday at 11:59 pm CST. Winner announced Saturday.
* Winner will be chosen at random.
Enter now - just leave a comment. Wish me a Merry Christmas if you want. You can even comfort me with thoughts like, "Don't worry, Darcy, your hair will grow back." or "It's no big deal your boys are half-dressed, they'll grow out of it!"
ENTER NOW! Oh, and tell your friends. 'Tis the season to be generous, merry and bright.
Here they are, the highly sought after (humor me!) Before & After pics of Jenny's blog makeover. If you remember, Jenny won the first ever LWM3B contest. Jenny's first blog had such cute little people, fun stories of her family and kids' work. But it had a generic Blogger header and needed some personality.
